%0 journal article
%@ 0939-6411
%A Kulkarni, A., Reiche, J., Hartmann, J., Kratz, K., Lendlein, A.

%D 2008
%J European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics
%N 1
%P 46-56 
%R doi:10.1016/j.ejpb.2007.05.021
%T Selective enzymatic degradation of poly (Epsilon-caprolactone) containing multiblock copolymers
%U https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2007.05.021
1 
%X The hydrolytic and Pseudomonas lipase catalysed enzymatic degradation was studied for PDC multiblock copolymers consisting of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) segments and poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) segments with variable composition. The enzymatic degradation of these multiblock copolymers is significantly accelerated by Pseudomonas lipase in contrast to the hydrolytic degradation where the deg-radation behaviour is determined by the PPDO segments. Degradation time intervals up to 200 h are selected, where the PPDO segments remain stable and do not contribute to the degradation process. A linear correlation between weight loss and increasing PCL content of the multiblock copolymers was found. X-ray diffraction data confirm that both crystalline and amorphous PCL are attacked by the enzymes. SEM cross-section images reveal that Pseudomonas lipase penetrates into the PDC polymers. The present study impressively demonstrates that selective enzymatic degradation of PCL containing multifunctional polymers is a beneficial tool for controlling their degradation properties.